


Burning Ambers Frigid Blues

by ObsidianButerfly



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Canon-Typical Violence, Draws inspiration from Firefly, F/M, Gen, Possible Character Death, Set in the future, Space Pirate Zuko, Space Pirates, Zuko's Honor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-30
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2019-09-02 20:52:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16794529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ObsidianButerfly/pseuds/ObsidianButerfly
Summary: They were at the opposite ends of the spectrum. She, a loyal daughter, sacrificing her happiness for the sake of her people. He, a runaway prince, searching for salvation. Never destined to meet but sparks flew when Burning Amber met Frigid Blues.





	1. Air

“It’s here! It’s here! It’s here!” Aang bounced excitedly down the corridor, clutching the e-book reader to his chest. Ignoring the disapproving frown on Elder Monk Bon’s face, he darted into his room and airbent his way to the topmost bunkbed. Flopping against his pillow, he held up the e-reader, and after quickly navigating to the source of his excitement, began to read.

**_Constellation Avalare_ **

**_A Beginner’s Guide to the History of the Quad System_ **

**_(Revised Edition)_ **

**_\------_ **

**_ Unit 1 _ **

**_Discovery & Settlement:_ **

_In the year 25 B.D.E (2563 A.D) the Quad system in constellation Avalare, located at 122.3 light years from the solar system, was discovered by a team of Terran astronomers. The discovered system was initially suspected to possess two potential habitable planets: the actively volcanic Firion – 12B and the dormant Irdom – 11C. A year later, an earth-sized planet Aimad – 4A and the tidally locked pair of moons 55 Watibe N and 55 Watibe S were also determined to be potentially habitable._

_Traveling at sub-light speeds, the journey to the system could be made in 300 years by class 4 generation ships. Five years after its discovery, terraforming ships were launched for the Quad in the year 20 B.D.E with destinations programmed for._

_Twenty years later, in the year 0 Post Departure Earth (P.D.E) exactly one hundred and fifty class 4 generation ship departed for the terraformed planets and moons for colonization of the terraformed Quad system._

**_Planetary Composition: An overview Pre-Terraforming vs Post-Terraforming:_ **

_300 P.D.E saw the arrival of class 4 generation ships in the Quad with the total number of ships split evenly across the three planets and two moons._

_Firion – 12B was predominantly a volcanic planet with two distinct oceans named Agni and Ra. Agni, located in the southern hemisphere also contained a continental size landmass dotted with dormant volcanoes while Ra, located in the northern hemisphere contained a stretch of volcanically active planets spanning the circumference of the planet. Post-Terraforming a significant portion of the continental mass named Caldera was turned into lush forests and farmlands. The active volcanoes were turned dormant and the ring of islands in northern hemisphere was converted into a tropical paradise._

_Three fourth of Irdom – 11C’s surface was composed of a major landmass dubbed the continent of Kyoshi. Kyoshi continent contained three major mountain ranges with snowcapped mountains and massive glaciers that fed into rivers snaking across its fertile surface and feeding into a variety of seas and lakes. The only ocean that Irdom could boast of covered the final one fourth of its surface, dubbed the Ocean of Chinn. Post-Terraforming, the continent of Kyoshi was covered in grassy plains, terraced farmlands and most importantly the tropical rainforests. In addition, a vast desert with considerable reserves of old earth fossil fuel also emerged and was dubbed the Si Wong desert._

_Technically the two moons of Watibe were primarily composed of water but the gravitational pull of these two tidally locked bodies resulted in a pair of massive oceans on the sides facing each other and somewhat dry, desert like masses of lands on the sides facing away. In the middle of these watery oceans, each moon contained a massive ice-cap with frozen land underneath. Post-Terraforming, the desert-land was turned into marshes and swamps with some of the most complex ecosystems in all of the terraformed bodies in the Constellation of Avalare while the sea surrounding the continental icecaps contained some of the most exotic aquatic life._

_Aimad –4A was a planet that in some manners resembled the closest to Earth, while in others it couldn’t be more different. With an abundance of salt-water seas and continental sized landmasses, the only thing setting the planet apart from Earth was the ocean that ringed around the planet’s equator. Simply dubbed the Ring, the positioning of this body of water allowed the formation of planet-wide storms for certain periods of time making it hard to travel between the surface and space. The natural resources of the planet worked in favor of habitation and post-Terraforming, the planet Aimad was dubbed Earth-2 by some simply for its resemblance with the home planet._

_Note: In the later centuries, keeping in view the seasonal planet-wide storms, Aimad’s asteroid belt was consolidated and converted into four space stations in geosynchronous orbit to the planet to serve as waystations that later evolved into thriving trading stations and habitats of their own._

**_Arrival, Inoculations & Side-Effects:_ **

_Although terraforming was a success, the population was inoculated with nanites capable of genetic modifications to help the colonists get settled quicker. An unforeseen side-effect of the inoculations did not begin making an appearance until the year 315 P.D.E when a miner Wan (last name unknown) from Aimad displayed the very first instance of elemental bending in recorded history._

_The strange, at the time, phenomenon was chalked up to being a side-effect of prolonged exposure to the radioactive element Avatarium-120 most commonly utilized for fuel in the Quad system._

**_Environmental Effects on Elemental Affinities for Bending:_ **

_In the following years more instances of elemental bending cropped up over each colonies and although the elemental affinity was normally chalked up to individuals, a recurring trend began to appear after the first three hundred years._

_By 625 P.D.E. each of the colonies were marked down with the following as the most recurring trend of elemental affinity._

  1. _Firion -12B (Firion being the commonly utilized term) generally displayed an affinity towards fire, most likely due to the environment itself being predisposed towards the element._
  2. _Irdom -11C (Irdom being the commonly utilized term) generally displayed an affinity towards earth, most likely due to the environment itself being predisposed towards the element._
  3. _55 Watibe N and S (Watibe North and Watibe South being the commonly utilized terms) generally displayed an affinity towards water, most likely due to the environment itself being predisposed towards the element._
  4. _Aimad—4A (Aimad being the commonly utilized term) generally displayed an affinity towards air, most like due to the environment itself being predisposed towards the element._



_It was theorized that with subsequent genetic modification on existing possessors of an elemental bender, further affinities could be introduced. Much experimentation and research was conducted towards the exploration of this avenue although most experiments resulted in failure with often fatal consequences. This line of research was abandoned for—_

“Boring!” Aang sighed, quickly swiping past the introductory pages of the book, taking a moment or two to skim through the subsequent chapters before coming to a stop near the very end. His grey eyes lit up as he spotted the passage of his interest near the very end of the book. “They totally included him in here.”

With a bright grin, he hopped off his spot and used a cushion of air to soften his landing as he waved the e-book reader and shot off towards the orphanage’s activity room.

“Hey, Sister Korra! Look, look! They did a whole page on Monk Roku in this one!”

“Aang, you’re not allowed to airbend in the hallways,” Sister Korra admonished though her tone was more amused than irritated as she turned away from the gaming console. Pulling off her headgear, she regarded him with sparkling blue eyes as she crossed her arms.

“Monk Gyatsu doesn’t mind if I airbend, so long as none of the elders can see it.” Aang stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, before giving her a pleading look. “You’re not going to tell on me, are you?”

“Hmm…” Korra pretended to think, letting out a laugh at the ‘caught with a hand in the cookie jar’ look in Aang’s eyes. “Fine, fine, I won’t tell them this time, but you really have to be careful in the hallways. There’s a reasons why we don’t bend in those.”

“I know.” Aang huffed, continuing in a tone that was obviously a mockery of one of the elders. “It’s because these hallways are the last vestiges of the initial waystations built by our ancestors. Bending in these areas might just destroy something fragile and that will be one more instance of our history lost because of your carelessness, young man!”

“I’d give that performance an eight out of ten.” Korra laughed once more. “Was that supposed to be Elder Monk Bon or Elder Monk Sen?”

“Elder Monk Sen.”

“You need a bit more grouchiness in the tone to really hit the point.” Korra pointed before giving him a demanding look. “Well? Show it to me.”

“Take a look! They did this whole page on Monk Roku.”

And with that, the young boy thrust the e-reader under Korra’s nose until she was nearly cross-eyed. Moving back to a more comfortable distance, Korra patted the seat next to her for the boy to sit before they both bent over the e-reader, eager eyes following the lines of text.

**_Master of Four Elements: Monk Roku_ **

_Monk Roku [last name unknown] (7 th Nov 2272 P.D. – 28th July 2342 P.D.) was a biochemist and biophysicist who conducted pioneering research in the field of bending nanite technology and the effects of Avatarium-120. One of the only people to integrate the varying effects of nano-tech with his own genes without fatal consequences, Monk Roku successfully proved the long debated theory that genetic modification could allow a subject to display bending capabilities in more than one element. Although naturally inclined towards the element fire, Monk Roku subsequently displayed the ability to bend the remaining three elements as well. _

_In addition to his scientific work, Monk Roku was also known for his philanthropic work such as his patronage of various orphanages and scholarship programs for the underprivileged. The Sage Orphan Home on Southern Waystation Colony was renamed to The Roku Memorial Home for Orphans in his honor, two years after Monk Roku’s passing._

_There is much controversy surrounding Monk Roku’s disappearance in the winter of 2334 P.D. and his reappearance in the June of 2342 P.D. While some claim there was foul play involved, given Roku’s physical state when he was discovered, others claim that his emaciated and comatose appearance was a result of the experimental nano-tech in his body. While no one can say for—_

**BOOM!**

“What was that?!” Aang cried in alarm.

Korra’s reply was cut off by the sound of blaring alarms.

“We’ve got a hull breach,” Korra breathed, eyes wide in alarm as she hopped to her feet. “Aang, gather the kids and—” the sound of another explosion cut off her words as the ground shook beneath their feet, toppling a tall bookshelf in a corner of the room. “Gather the kids in your dorm and stay there. I’m going to go check with the elders.”

**BOOM!**

A third explosion sent her and Aang flying across the room. Trying to ignore the stars dancing across his vision, Aang crawled across the floor to where Korra lay.

“S-Sister Korra?” he called out hesitantly, wincing at the sound of a fourth explosion. Korra groaned in response but lay unmoving, a pool of blood rapidly growing underneath her.

“All children return to your dorms immediately.” Monk Gyatsu’s voice crackled over the intercom speakers. “All able-bodied acolytes report to the Central Control Station. Southern Waystation Colony is under attack. All children—”

The fifth and final explosion cut off the power and with it, the announcements and the alarms, leaving Aang alone in the dark with his injured companion.

-0-

Aang sat huddled in his former dorm room with a group of children from other parts of the orphanage. Several of the younger kids were sobbing into their knees and though Aang wanted to join them, he kept his tears at bay through sheer stubbornness alone. He was scared and Sister Korra was out there somewhere, _bleeding!_ But Monk Gyatsu had ordered all the children over the intercom speakers to comply with the armed men’s demands and return to their dorms. The men wore, black bodysuits complete with skeletal looking facemasks and they all carried blaster weapons. They wore no insignias and when they spoke their voices came out wheezy and distorted through the breathing apparatus.

The men had locked the kids in their dorms and stationed guards in the hallways. He could hear them breathing through that apparatus on the other side of the door. He wondered what they might do if Aang tried to airbend up to the circulation vent in the roof and sneak to the Central Control Station. If he got caught, would he simply be sent back or would the men shoot him? He’d seen one of them attack an acolyte while they had been herding the kids to their dorms. The acolyte had been badly burnt and they’d just _left_ him in the hallway. What if Aang got caught and they did that to him? He was just one kid? What if they hurt the other kids? Or worse… what if they hurt Monk Gyatsu?

Before he could decide, the intercom came to life, the sound of crackling static filling the air for a moment or two before a harsh, grating voice spoke. It was a man and his flat tone sent an involuntary shiver down Aang’s spine.

“Denizens of Southern Waystation Colony, this is General Han. Due to a possible viral outbreak within the four Aimad Waystation Colonies, the interplanetary coalition of disease prevention is placing all colonial stations under strict quarantine.”

A couple of the boys with him murmured in protest while the youngest kids began to wail in fright. Aang hastily shushed them when the men guarding their door knocked with their blaster and demanded silence. General Han was still speaking and Aang tried to listen to his words, half his attention on trying to puzzle out the viral outbreak. There had been none! Unless you counted that weird flu that had been going around in one of mining stations in the outer rim of the colonies. Aang wasn’t supposed to know about it but he’d overheard the elders talking about it while he had been on his way to visit Monk Gyatsu.

“The quarantine will remain effective until a cure has been manufactured and the population inoculated. As such, no one will be allowed in or out of the colonies for the duration. Until such a time that it is not needed, your cooperation will be greatly appreciated. Please refrain from trying to leave your designated quarantine areas as ICDP has been granted the rights to shoot to kill anyone attempting to exit this area.

“In this vein, I would like to add that please cooperate with the medical staff as they have come here at great personal risk to help find a cure. You will be kept updated via the intercom system. I hope to work with you in such difficult times and hopefully all of us will come out as friends by the end.”

Without further warning the intercom cut off, leaving Aang in a room full of scared and sobbing children. Aang tried to distract them with a few of the games he kept stashed in his drawer and thought about the General’s words. The entire situation was making him uneasy in a way completely unrelated to the sudden implementation of a colony-wide quarantine. Whatever was going on, Aang had a feeling in his gut that things were about to go completely pear-shaped.

-0-

People had been going missing from the colonies as far back as Monk Roku’s disappearance but most disappearances were chalked up to accidental deaths out in space when their bodies turned up floating in some remote part of the asteroid belt. While a little unusual, it was one of the accepted hazards of life out in the Aimad Waystation Colonies so no one looked into it very closely. Aang could only wish that someone had thought to investigate when there had been time to bring everything to light. It had been over a year since the colonies were put in quarantine and Aang knew the truth behind the disappearances.

He knew the truth and all colonists imprisoned in there with him knew the truth and it was too late to do anything about it because the rest of the worlds believed what the ICDP said about the deadly virus infecting all of the colonists. But it was all lies and no one would see it coming before it was too late.

He didn’t know who the ICDP truly worked for but the colonists were guinea pigs imprisoned in their own homes and Aang couldn’t do anything to help anyone. In the time since the quarantine had gone into effect, he had only seen Sister Korra twice, once with all her hair shorn off while she was covered in blood and strapped down to a gurney in the medical bay six months ago – way too late for it to be the same injury that she’d gotten when the colonies were attacked and infected – and the other time was now where she was floating in a tank full of glowing blue liquid, eyes closed and body full of tubes…

His heart hammered inside his chest in fear as he was rolled down the length of the hallway and into what used to be the prayer hall for all the elder monks, Aang noticed that there were hundreds of such tanks, all with an unmoving person inside. His vision was hazy with the drugs they’d given him and he could barely move his head let alone actually try to escape but he could hear the uniformed people milling about just fine.

Their words hammered and drummed around inside his head in an insane cacophony but he could pick out snatches of what they were saying.

“—response to culture AV-647 is not promising—” said that lady next to the tank holding… wait, was that Kuzon?

“— tried switching to AV -921 nano-gene therapy but the subject’s body is not –” said the baldy with a datapad in his hand, pushing his spectacle farther up his crooked nose.

“— prepping subject for full immersion in batch—” droned another with papery skin and squinty golden eyes.

“This one is an Airbender,” announced the skull-mask guy who’d drugged Aang and then tied him up so Aang couldn’t try running again.

“An Airbender, hmm?” Ice cold fingers gripped hold of Aang’s chin and he found himself staring into the face of old guy with a huge sideburns. Aang tried to speak but there was lead in his tongue weighing it down and his throat was so dry. He needed water… would they give him some water if he asked nicely? “They’re the most responsive to the treatments out of all our subjects although I must say, Subject 326-K8 is showing promise.”

“Isn’t that the waterbender, sir?” asked the skull-mask guy.

“Yes, yes, but she is very promising all the same. Now, bring this one over here, I’d like to try something different to stabilize him for the nano-gene therapy.” A part of him wanted to be afraid but that tiny voice was buried under all the other voices bouncing around inside his head. And then there was the spinning of the world, not unlike the low-gravity stations he’d visited with Monk Gyatsu a few years ago. Oh… he was moving again and now they were stopping next to an empty tank with hundreds of snakelike tubes hanging out of the spaces near the top. “Now 112-A2, just relax, alright? This won’t hurt a bit.”

Was the old guy speaking to him? Oh, he was… the old guy had a mechanical device with five sharp needles sticking out its end and what was he— all thoughts cut off immediately as the 6 inch long needles sank into Aang’s stomach and a cold, burning liquid fire began to spread outwards and oh it hurt so much and Aang wanted to scream but they were shoving a pipe down his throat and there was pain and fire and he was sinking, falling, lost in the darkness…

-0-

He was floating in space… there was warmth all around him and inside him, in his veins and bones and nerves and he was floating and there were flashing lights somewhere far away and people were screaming.

“Put surviving subjects in cryostasis and prepare to move out!”

There was fire and monsters and screaming and blood and the warmth around him was turning to ice and he was turning to ice too and his blood was freezing with his bones and flesh and he was sinking deeper and deeper into darkness…

-0-

**SECRET**

**(For the Eyes of His Majesty, The Fire Lord Only)**

~~AIMAD MEMORIAL RESEARCH FACILITY~~

~~Firion, Restricted Zone 43~~

Series No. 121

Copy No. 4

Of 5 copies only

Display of Avatar Effect by Subject 326-K8

On March 24th, 2376 P.D. Subject 326-K8 was scheduled for a testing of the results of nano-gene therapy to culture combinations of ~~AV-446, AV-487, AV-562~~ and ~~AV-239~~. After a treatment duration of two years, Subject 326-K8 displayed a secondary elemental affiliation for fire and earth.

After the Subject’s positive response to nano-gene therapy, ~~Dr. Shinu~~ scheduled a secondary round of culture treatments and after five months, subject was rescheduled for a demonstration.

February 1st, 2377 P.D. Subject 326-K8 successfully demonstrated an elemental affinity for air, proving to be the second successful possessor of the Avatar Effect. Unfortunately, Subject suffered a psychotic breakdown post-demonstration and proceeded to utilize its newfound abilities to bring about the destruction of the research facility set up in the former The Roku Memorial Home for Orphans and three of its surrounding sectors.

Subject escaped the Southern Waystation Colony in a stolen komodo-dragon class ship and proceeded to attack the remaining three colonial research facilities. It is not yet fully known how the subject managed to accomplish their destruction but the attacks focused on damaging the structure integrity of the biomes and their power sources resulting in the complete destruction of Northern, Eastern and Western Waystation Colonies. Southern Waystation Colony while only partially damaged was deemed structurally unstable and ten of the surviving subjects from the research facility were placed in cryostasis and transported to ~~Restricted Zone 43~~.

The stolen komodo-dragon class ship was shot down and destroyed upon reentry of Aimad’s atmosphere. Although subject had been given an experimental regenerative nanite implant, Subject 326-K8 was deemed terminated based on lack of readouts of vital signs from the subject. As with the viral outbreak in Waystation Colonies, evidence of the Aimad Colonies Massacre linking the infamous terrorist/pirate armada Equalists to the unfortunate Sister Korra has been periodically released for public after a thorough investigation performed by the military faction of ICDP. Shortly after the incident, the global scale storm erupted on the surface of Aimad—4A making reentry to the planet surface for further acquisition of ~~Avatarium-121~~ impossible. As the element was an integral part of the research into the Avatar Effect, large-scale research on the project is no longer viable and termination is recommended. 

**SECRET**

**(** **For the Eyes of His Majesty the Fire Lord Only)**

~~AIMAD MEMORIAL RESEARCH FACILITY~~

~~Firion, Restricted Zone 43~~

-0-

**Restricted Zone 43**

**Aimad Research Facility**

**2377 P.D.E**

Ten cryostasis pods were rolled down a winding hallway in the bowels of the research facility. At the very end of the final hallway was a cavernous storage room, where failed projects were sent to death via obscurity. The procession of cryostasis pods reached this storage room, headed by the grim-faced lead scientist, Dr. Shinu, for Project Avatar. The man silently observed his underlings stash his life’s work in the dusty hall, feeling a pang of regret mingled with anger. He had been so close. _So close,_ to figuring out the Avatar Effect and now they were throwing it all away. He still had ten surviving subjects and just enough Avatarium to bring it all to fruition. He knew he could do it if they just let him continue his work but instead the inquiry committee had deemed the project non-viable. His _life’s work_ was deemed non-viable!

Gritting his teeth, Dr. Shinu watched the workers hook up the cryo-pods to the power supply, running a final systems check to ensure long term storage of his beautiful specimens. He reached for the nearest pod, resting his palm against the glass tube that contained the youngest of his specimens and the only surviving Airbender of the lot. If only…

Anger gave way to bitterness as Dr. Shinu sighed and stepped away. Glancing down at the datapad, confirmed that everything was in working order before barking the orders to retreat. The doorway slid shut behind the retreating team with a hiss of finality as the project was buried in the shadows for the next eighty seven years.


	2. Fire

**Firion Summer Palace**

**The Royal Infirmary**

**2459 P.D.E**

Zuko woke to a world of pain. Half his face felt like it was still burning, a sinister tempo of throbbing pain at odds with his staccato heartbeat. His throat was on fire, the rancid taste of vomit and blood sharp on his tongue as he struggled and failed to open his eyes. Cloth rustled beside him and gentle hands lifted his head before a glass was pressed to his parched lips.

Blessedly cool water trickled down his throat, soothing some of the ache he hadn’t even realized was there, though it was pulled away much too soon for his liking. The gentle hands laid him back against the pillow before he felt the person smooth the sheets covering his torso.

After several failed attempts, he managed to crack open an eye, catching the hazy outline of a figure dressed in red, fussing about him.

“M-Mother?” he rasped, treacherous hope blossoming in his chest as he prayed to whatever gods were willing to listen. _Please, let it be her. I will take all this pain without complaints._

“I am afraid you will have to make do with me, nephew,” replied the regretful voice of his uncle. Zuko felt the hope within him shatter as despair and disappointment welled up inside him.

“Uncle…” the hazy outline resolved into the tired face of General Iroh, his golden eyes dulled with sorrow as he looked down at Zuko.

“You must rest, nephew,” he said, gently carding his fingers through Zuko’s hair. Zuko closed his eye, and for a moment the ten year old could almost fool himself into believing that it was his mother that was taking care of him. “You need to regain your strength in order to heal properly.”

“He really did it,” Zuko mumbled, ignoring his uncle’s advice as he struggled to sit up on leaden arms. The sheets pooled around his waist even as the world spun and the throbbing in his head intensified. Tears of pain gathered in his good eye though he refused to let them fall. No matter what Azula said, he _wasn’t_ a crybaby. “Father burnt me…”

He could feel the scratchy gauze wrapped around half his face despite the pain. But that wasn’t right… even if he had been punished, he shouldn’t still be hurting. The nano medbots should have healed him by now. So why was he still in pain? Why was he—

“I warned you not to speak out of turn in front of your father,” Iroh murmured, catching Zuko as he suddenly listed to one side, gently laying him back in the bed. “The Fire Lord is not merciful to those who offend him, not even if they share his own blood.”

He thought he saw Azula’s head peeking out from behind a pillar but all he could think of was the pain. Some part of his wound have healed by now.

“Why does it still hurt, uncle?” Zuko hated how childish the words had sounded. He was the crown prince. He wasn’t going to cry over every little hurt.

“The Fire Lord has forbidden the use of nano medbots to take care of your injuries. The wound will… leave its mark.”

_“Let this be a reminder for you.”_ Father had said before the fireball had turned his world into agony. He had been marked like a common criminal. And now father wanted him to carry that mark for the rest of his life?

All Zuko could feel was a hollow dizziness as a fresh wave of tear stung his good eye, burning at the back of his throat in a way much worse than the earlier taste of blood and vomit. Was Azula still watching? He tried turning his head to look but suddenly Iroh was there, blocking his fuzzy line of sight with his bulky frame, holding out a cup of medicine for him. The bitter liquid burnt its way down his throat and Zuko coughed and sputtered long after his uncle had put the empty cup away.

The world spun in lazy circles around him as the pain began to fade, taking with it everything else until all that was left was the feeling of his uncle’s fingers, once more running through his sweat dampened hair.

“I am truly sorry, nephew,” he heard uncle say from far far away, “I wish I could have done something more to protect you. To protect both of you.”

Zuko was lost to the world before he could muster up the energy to ask for an explanation.

-0-

**Firion Summer Palace**

**The Throne Room**

**2464 P.D.E**

Determined footsteps echoed through the deathly silent hallways that led up to throne room. The elderly general paused outside the entrance, waiting for the guard stationed outside to announce his presence before making his way inside, his head held high. Stopping at the foot of the stairs leading up to the curtain of golden flames that concealed the throne, Iroh bowed just deeply enough to not be considered an insult.

The flames flared twice before parting and the Fire Lord stepped through. Golden eyes as cold as stone observed the bowing form of the general, taking in the grey hair and multitude of wrinkles on the man’s aging face, studying the set of his shoulders and the curve of his spine. Waiting for a few moments longer than necessary, the Fire Lord commanded the man to rise. Motioning with a hand he dismissed the lingering courtiers. “Now,” Ozai spoke once the doors to the throne room had been sealed, “what was this matter of urgent importance, Iroh?”

The grey haired general straightened, meeting his brother’s cold gaze with an even one of his own. “It has recently come to my knowledge that there are attempts being made to revive Project Avatar. More alarming, still, is that the leftover reserve of Avatarium 121 from the project’s termination has gone missing.”

Although Ozai’s expression gave nothing away, Iroh knew his brother well enough to know that he clearly had not been expecting Iroh to have that particular information.

“I can assure you, General, these are nothing but rumors.” Ozai’s tone was one he generally reserved for those who had fallen out of the Fire Lord’s favor.

“Are you certain of that, brother?” Iroh’s, in return, was unyielding.

“Feel free to investigate for yourself if you wish, but you will find that it is just as I said. There was the barest tightening of Ozai’s jaw as he reiterated, “These are nothing but rumors.”

“If that is the case,” Iroh folded his hands, sliding them between the wide sleeves of his tunic, “then why is it that four months ago, the Aimad Research Facility in Restricted Zone 43 was brought online?” That it was done in secret was not something that needed mentioning.

Ozai’s eyes flashed in anger though, much to Iroh’s surprise, his younger brother did not verbalize his thoughts on the matter. Only the sound of crackling flames broke the tense silence that hung between them. The standoff lasted for much long than it ever had before. There had once been a time when Iroh’s firm gaze would have had Ozai quickly admitting to whatever mischief he had managed for that day to ire his older brother. But times had changed and so had his brother. Before him stood, not the mischievous boy Iroh had adored so much, but the Fire Lord, proud and unapologetic. That young, over-eager prankster had been smothered by the cold-hearted creature who didn’t even care for his own flesh and blood. What had been done to Zuko and Ursa was proof enough of that.

There was no way to be subtle about it, Iroh realized as the silence dragged on and on. Ozai would not pay heed to subtle hints. Though he was also aware that his own life would be forfeit, were to go through with this confrontation, leaving his nephew and niece vulnerable to the Fire Lord’s manipulations. Iroh was faced with an impossible choice. On the one hand, it was the children he loved as dearly as his late Lu Ten, on the other it was the entirety of Firion.

“Whispered rumors they may be for now, brother,” Iroh said, finally choosing to break the silence and with it, sealing his fate, “but surely you must realize that once they reach the council, there will a thorough investigation into the matter.”

“Have you ever wondered about how powerful a weapon we would have had in our hands now, had Fire Lord Sozin succeeded with the initial project?”

“Our forefather’s search for power was what ultimately led to the destruction of the Home Planet,” Iroh replied, keeping his tone even despite the way he clenched his hands beneath the wide sleeves of his robes. “Not to mention the millions of lives lost in the Aimad Waystation Colonies disaster. There was a reason why the council ordered for the project to be shut down and we both know it wasn’t just because of the lack of Avatarium-121.”

“Please.” Ozai scoffed. “Don’t tell me you still believe in those bedtime stories.”

“Grandfather Sozin wiped out the Aimad settlements in his search for power,” Iroh said, trying to keep his composure despite the crushing disappointment he felt. “We came dangerously close to being exposed a few years ago by that Southern Watibe researcher. It was a stroke of fortune that her vessel was destroyed in an Equalist raid taking all her life and the data she collected with it.”

“Yes, it was a stroke of good fortune indeed.” Ozai smirked.

Iroh paused in what he had been about to say watching his brother closely. The implication of what he hadn’t said was not lost on him. With a sigh and the tiniest shakes of his head, Iroh spoke. “I had truly hoped it would not come to this, but you leave me with no other choice, brother. I cannot risk another incident like the Waystation Colonies.”

Standing tall to look the Fire Lord in the eye, Iroh spoke with the authority befitting of his position.

“Fire Lord Ozai, as the Head of the Royal Council, it is my solemn duty to inform my fellow advisors of these _rumors._ You have exactly three days to order a termination of the renewed Project Avatar or the Royal Council might just find itself holding a vote to determine the future of the throne.” The anger in Ozai’s expression and the hard look in his brother’s eyes was all the confirmation Iroh needed to know that he had sealed his fate with those words, but if he was to die, what was one more nail in the coffin? “I don’t think I need to mention this, but after what you did to Crown Prince Zuko five years ago, you have lost the favor of a significant number of the councilmembers. I would urge you to abandon this foolish task while it has yet to take wing, brother.”

-0-

**Firion Summer Palace**

**Western Royal Gardens**

**2464 P.D.E**

"Guess what _I_ overheard Father say the other day, Zuzu?" said Princess Azula, younger sister to the heir of the Royal throne, as she strode into her brother's private gardens. These garden had once belonged to the Fire Lady Ursa, but after her unexplained disappearance over five years ago, the prince had claimed them as his personal sanctuary.

Although the official declaration of their ‘ownership’ so to speak hadn’t come until after that memorable council meeting where Zuko being his hotheaded and brash self, had exploded at their father with demands of a proper investigation into their mother’s disappearance. That had led to the one sided Agni Kai where Zuko had gotten half his face burnt off and then punished with a sentencing to bear the mark of shame for the rest of his life.

Of course, their softhearted _uncle_ had oozed quiet disappointment and disapproval for Father’s actions for months afterwards. While Azula could see their father’s wisdom in dealing out swift punishment, a small part of her had to agree with uncle. Maybe father had been a little too harsh while dealing with her idiot brother. After all, if even the crown prince wasn’t safe from such a humiliating punishment, what hope did anyone else on Firion have? Even so, the dummy should have known better than to speak to the Fire Lord like that. And that too in front of so many people.

She had snuck into the infirmary the day after Zuko’s Agni Kai and no matter how hard she tried, the stench of burnt flesh and hair and her brother’s fevered mumblings were something of a recurring nightmare that crept up on her when she least expected it. Azula had vowed that day that no matter what, she would never let herself be caught in such a vulnerable position. Ever!

She wasn’t an idiot like Zuzu or a fool like their uncle. Honestly, what had gotten into the old man’s head to go and confront father like that? It was almost as though he _wanted_ to die.

Suppressing the urge to frown, Azula plastered an infuriating smirk that she knew annoyed Zuko to no end as she leaned against a tree and watched her brother practice his katas.

“Whatever it is that you have to say, I’m not interested right now, Azula. Now go away,” Zuko spat as he punched out with a clenched fist and a brilliant ball of orange-gold flame burst outwards from the outstretched limb. Azula ignored the pang of hurt at the idiot’s dismissive tone, choosing to hide it behind nonchalance as she pretended to examine her well-manicured nails.

“Not even if it concerns our beloved Uncle?” she asked slyly just as Zuko brought his leg around in a high kick, an arch of flames following the path of his foot. Zuzu’s carefully built mask of indifference crumbled and then shattered as he stumbled in his landing, falling flat on his face. Azula resisted the urge to taunt him for losing his focus even as Zuko pushed himself upright and turned around to face her, breathing hard. Sweat glistened on his body in the silvery moonlight, casting phantom shadows to dance across his face as he closed the distance between them.

"What did you say?" he hissed, golden eyes so like her own, narrowed in mistrust as he searched her face for a hint of a lie. Azula tried not to let that hurt her either. After all, Zuko was an idiot who only saw what was on the surface. He still hadn’t learnt to read the hidden meanings behind seemingly innocuous words, unlike Azula. A trait that she knew she shared with both her father and her uncle. General Iroh might always appear to favor her dummy of a brother, but Azula knew where she stood with her uncle. And unlike the uncertainty of her position with father, Azula had never once doubted the words of her uncle. Maybe if she hadn’t gotten so good at seeing the meanings of the words left unsaid at such a young age, she might have resented the old man and her brother for their apparent closeness. As it was however, Azula was perfectly content with the way things were or rather, with the way things had been.

_If only uncle hadn’t been so stupid!_

“I said, would you still not be interested in what I had to say, even if it concerns the Dragon of the West?” she repeated calmly, noting with interest the way her brother’s face lost all color, which in the pale light of the full moon overhead was quite a feat in itself.

-0-

**Firion Summer Palace**

**Eastern Wing, Residential Complex**

**2464 P.D.E**

“Uncle!” Breathing hard, Zuko burst through the doors to the General’s chambers, having run all the way from the gardens in the western wing of the palace to reach the residential complex in the east wing. The prince froze just past the threshold, wide terrified eyes surveying the darkened room in the warm, yellow light spilling in from the hallway behind him. A curtain fluttered in the slight breeze drifting in through the open window, casting dancing, silvery shadows across the carpeted floor. The bed was perfectly made and not yet slept in but there was also no sign of his uncle.

Zuko summoned a ball of flame to light his path as he cautiously stepped further into the room, ears straining for the slightest of sounds. His muscles were coiled in tense preparation to fend off any would be attackers. Azula’s words had left him badly shaken but as the moments ticked by and nothing leapt out at him from the shadows, he felt himself relax just a fraction. He should have realized it by now. Azula always lied. And she loved playing all these stupid pranks on him. With a heavy sigh, Zuko turned, almost heading towards the door when he heard it.

It was a faint, shallow rattling that sent all his hair standing on end. Ice clenched his heart in a vicelike grip as he cautiously approached his uncle’s private study.

“Uncle?” he called out as he slowly pushed open the door to the study and stepped inside. There it was again, that odd rasping sound. Zuko held the flame higher and felt the breath catch in his throat at the sight that greeted him. Furniture upturned, curtains ripped and destroyed documents were everywhere and then he saw his uncle, lying face down in a pool of rapidly spreading blood. “Uncle!”

The scarred prince dropped to his knees next to him, quickly turning him on his back. Deep slashes ran across his torso, exposing the white of his ribs, one of his arms was bent at an odd angle and he appeared to be struggling to breathe.

“No, no, no... Hang on, Uncle, I’ll call for help,” Zuko told him, trying to staunch the bleeding with his hands but the wounds were too deep and there was so much blood and oh Agni what was he going to do? “Guards! Help! It’s going to be okay, Uncle. Don’t worry, just— Just hold on. Guards!”

Where the hell was everyone?

“Zuko…” his uncle blindly reached for his hands and Zuko quickly turned his attention towards the dying man.

“I’m here, Uncle. You- Did you see who attacked you? Who did this to you? I’ll hunt them down and—”

“Z-Zuko, help me… up.” Iroh’s breath rattled in his chest even as he tightened his grip on Zuko’s hand.

“What? But, Uncle, you’re—”

“Please, Nephew, I don’t… have a lot of t-time left…”The Dragon of the West struggled to sit up on his own, despite his critical condition and Zuko quickly moved to assist him. “My writing d-desk.” He instructed weakly as Zuko slung his uninjured arm across his shoulders, his footsteps faltering under the dead weight of his aging uncle before Iroh managed to find his footing.

Zuko’s eyes were burning and there was something wet sliding down his cheeks as he helped his uncle across the length of the room and to the cherry wood writing desk. When Zuko tried to help his uncle to the chair, however, his uncle demanded he help him get under the desk instead. His immediate reaction was to loudly protest but seeing the look on Iroh’s face, Zuko nodded and gently helped him to the floor and slip under the desk. His uncle fiddled with some sort of hidden mechanism underneath because the flat top split open with a loud hiss to reveal a concealed compartment.

“Help me up,” came his uncle’s weak voice and Zuko hastened to obey, trying to ignore the all the blood. “You will… need this if you are to survive… what my brother has in mind for you…” Iroh said even as he entered a series of passwords into an old fashioned security system installed in the desk and a secondary compartment hissed open.

For a moment, Zuko was stunned by the tiny flashcube and a datapad bearing the mark of a white lotus.

“Take them… There is a fully prepared… komodo-dragon class ship in my personal hangar… Take it and…” Iroh’s eyes rolled in the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.

“Uncle!”

“Zuko!” Azula’s appeared in the doorway to his uncle’s study, eyes wide and for the first time in his life, Zuko could see genuine fear in her eyes. “The Royal Guard, they— they’re coming for you. You need to leave, now!”

“What?”

“You heard me,” she said, covering the distance between them in an almost run, before she was reaching for his arm and tugging him to his feet. “Come on! There isn’t much time, you idiot. You need to get out of the palace before they find you.”

“Uncle is dead, Azula,” Zuko said, resisting her attempts to pull him away.

“I’m sorry but you can mourn him later,” Azula growled as she reached into the desk and grabbed the datapad and flashcube and thrust them in his arms. “Right now, if you don’t listen to me and get the hell out of here, you’re going to be next.”

Not giving him another chance to resist, Azula proceeded to drag him through one of the secret exits to their uncle’s study, going through the twisted maze of corridors before reaching General Iroh’s private hangar.

Hiding in the shadows of the concealed alcove that the corridor lead up to, Azula turned to face him.

“I know you don’t really trust anything I ever tell you, but at least trust in this that I don’t actually want you dead.”

“How did you know about this passage? And why the hell would the Royal Guard be coming for me?”

“It’s General Zhao,” Azula replied. “He has been filling father’s ears against you for quite some time now. Tonight, I overheard him present irrefutable evidence that you have been working to undermine father’s rule. And I’m pretty sure he’s going to find some way to pin Uncle’s death on you too.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“What part of I don’t want you dead, did you not understand?” Azula bit out, peaking out of the alcove to check if the coast was clear before grabbing Zuko’s hand and running over to the small cargo ship at the back of the hangar. She pulled out the access key for the ship from her pocket and threw it to Zuko. “Uncle left instructions for you inside in case something like this happened.”

“He _knew_? And he told _you?_ ”

“Are you going to keep arguing with me until the guards arrive?” Azula rolled her eyes before groaning. Heaving a sigh, she turned back to him and continued. “Yes, Uncle showed me the escape tunnels and he shared some of his other secrets with me too. Yes, he actually trusted me to keep you safe and no, I’m not evil enough to want you _dead._ Now, if you’re done being suspicious, get the hell out of here, Zuzu.”

She watched the ship depart, watched until it was just another speck in the millions of stars in the night sky. Glancing at the holographic display that showed the time, she turned away and walked back to the alcove, resisting the urge to smirk. Everything was going according to the plan.

By now, the guard would have discovered the general’s body and moved it to the infirmary. The Royal Guard would be searching through Zuko’s rooms and probably discovered the condemning evidence planted there. Again, she bit back a smirk. In a few hours, Zuko would be arriving at the hideout and within a day he would be declared a fugitive, leaving her as the only royal apart from the Fire Lord on Firion.

Yes… Everything was going exactly according to plan.

-0-

**SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE**

**FIRION INTERPLANETARY BROADCASTING NETWORK**

** The Dragon of the West is No More **

**Earlier this morning, General Iroh, elder brother to Fire Lord Ozai and the former Head of the Royal Council of Advisors, was found dead in his private chambers. The chief of the Firion Security Forces has yet to release a press statement regarding this tragedy however sources within the palace have confirmed that the General’s health had been declining steadily for the past several months and that the former Head of the RCA most likely succumbed to whatever deadly disease had been weakening this great man. All of Firion is in shock and the interplanetary community has expressed their sorrow at the Dragon’s passing and stands united with the people of Firion in this dark hour.**

**General Fong of the Irdom United Taskforce has—**

**.**

**.**

**.**

** Ex-Crown Prince declared Traitor to the Crown **

**In a statement released by the chief of the Firion Security Forces, ex-Prince Zuko had ties to and was assisting a sub-branch of the notorious pirate fleet the White Lotus. Condemning evidence was discovered in the ex-Prince’s accommodations following an in depth investigation of Zuko’s activities over the last couple of years. Although no official statement has been released yet, but many speculate that the Dragon of the West’s death might have a more sinister reason than failing health. When members of the FSF went to bring Zuko in, the former prince escaped from Firion under the cover of a sneak attack, stealing a komodo-dragon class spaceship from the late General Iroh’s private hangar.**

**Following the release of statement by chief of the FSF, the Fire Lord has announced that the ex-Prince is now exiled with a capture on sight order. Princess Azula, formerly second in line to the Royal throne is now the heiress apparent and will be declared as the new Firion Crown Princess in a publicly televised ceremony in two days after General Iroh’s Funeral.**

**In the meantime, hunt for the disgraced ex-prince –**

-0-

**Firion Summer Palace**

**The Throne Room**

**2464 P.D.E (Two days after General Iroh’s Funeral)**

Azula smoothed out a non-existent crease in her ceremonial robes and glanced at her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied with what she saw, she stepped out of the antechamber and into the tiny alcove that would keep her concealed from public eye until the ceremony was to begin. Behind her, stood her closest friends, Mei and Ty Lee. The former leant against a pillar with her arms crossed and a permanent scowl glued to her face while the latter was grinning wide enough for all three of them, Azula returned the grin with a tiny smile of her own before turning back around to look outside the alcove.

Beyond the sheer, crimson curtains draped across the opening, she could see the servants scurrying towards the servant door off to one side. The last of them vanished just as the throne room doors swung open and her father stepped inside, dressed in his own more intricate ceremonial robes. He was followed by a procession of courtiers and the five Fire Sages. Father walked down the length of the hall before settling down in the grand throne and firebending a ceiling high curtain of flame to conceal himself from view. The Head Fire Sage moved forth and the ceremony began.

Azula waited patiently as the man droned on and on about the greatness of the Royal Family, reciting a seemingly endless list of accomplishments performed by a member in the past that led the people of Firion to their current prosperity. The official lamented the passing of the Dragon of the West when he reached the current generation of Royals but there was no mention of Zuzu whatsoever. It irked her a little to have her _brother_ completely struck off from the family tree but then again, there was never any mention of the disowned. Azula turned her attention back to the official just as he announced her name and title.

The curtains hiding the alcove parted and the throne room burst into applause. In the distance, she could hear the loud cheering of the soldiers, the commoners and the less important officials gathered in the palace grounds and the streets.

Azula smirked as she stepped into the light as the only heir to the throne.

-0-

**Restricted Zone 43**

**Aimad Research Facility**

**2465 P.D.E**

Shen, the lowly patrol guard, stifled a yawn as he rounded a corner, idly wondering why in the worlds he had agreed to take on the stupid nightwatch in the first place. Oh right, as the newest recruit, he got the worst shifts by default, every day of every week for as long as he was the lowest grunt around. Maybe he should have gone into the family fishing business like his father had suggested in the first place.

Other than a bunch creepy scientists, who moved around with their eyes glued to their datapads and these two other guys who’d been sent to patrol the lower levels of the facility a week ago as some sort of punishment, he didn’t even have any company, let alone good company. It wasn’t like he could just walk up to one of the sealed doors and pop on the other side for a chat with whatever the hell they were keeping inside for their experiments.

As he rounded another corridor, Shen bit back an annoyed sigh, wishing his family had tried harder to dissuade him from joining the Firion Security Forces. No wait, his father, mother and even his sister had tried so hard to get him to stay but of course, he had wanted a life of _excitement_ and _action._ Well, here he was, four months out of the training and still patrolling the lower levels of a stupid research facility. As if anything exciting would ever happen here of all—WHAM!

As the world grew dark around Shen, the last though he had was along the lines of _‘Finally something exciting happens and I’ll be unconscious.’_

A masked figured melted out of the shadows as the camouflage suit rippled on contact with the guard’s armor. The intruder grabbed his victim and dragged the unconscious guard down the corridor and into a supply closet at the end. Five minutes later, a young man with dark, messy hair and a gruesome burn marring the left side of his face emerged from the closet, dressed in a guard’s outfit. Pulling out a keycard that he had taken from the guard along with the uniform, the young man made his way down the corridor. Pausing at the door, he inputted a series of passcodes before swiping the stolen card across the reader, his breath catching in his throat when the reader lit up an alarming shade of red. He was going to be so pissed if those passcodes turned out to be bogies.

Before he could turn around and make an escape however, the reader beeped and the light turned green. A moment later, the door slid open with a soft hiss. Exhaling softly, he stepped through. The door remained open behind his back as he made his way down the narrow corridor which opened into a fairly large laboratory a few feet ahead. Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew the knockout pellets and rolled them across the floor. The pellets hissed as they released their contents and five simultaneous thumps followed. He waited an extra half minute to be sure that no alarm would be raised before stepping inside.

All five of the scientists were knocked out and he had already taken care of the security guards on that level. Though he did have to be quick. Even if none of the security guards ever bothered to venture out of their assigned zones, and his passcodes took care of the alarm system for a few hours, he couldn’t linger for long. The sooner he got out of there with what he’d come for, the farther away he would be when it was discovered missing. Not bothering to hide from the now disabled security cameras, he scanned the room for the master control panel, making note of the five specimen enclosures built into the wall farthest from him.

He approached the master panel and typed in the passcodes he had been provided with. The system took nearly a minute to recognize him as an authorized user but once he was in, he had full control of the lab’s systems. Unfortunately, disabling the security feeds meant he couldn’t use the cameras installed inside the enclosures either. Biting back an impatient sigh, he took note of which of the five enclosures was actually occupied. He checked the data logs and frowned upon realizing that, three of the five held live specimens. He’d been told it would only be his target in there.

Nevertheless, he quickly approached the first enclosure and deactivated the primary shielding. The opaque covering to the enclosure slid apart soundlessly to reveal the translucent secondary shielding but he was far more interested in what occupied the cell. Inside, slumped against the wall, looking bored out of his mind was a dark-haired boy around his age, dressed in a neon green jumpsuit. The occupant had been playing with a couple of loose rocks, spinning them nearly a foot above his hand in a loose circular motion. _An earthbender…_

Shaking his head, the boy to the next enclosure and repeated the process of disabling the primary shield. This one was another dark-haired boy, also around his own age but unlike the earthbender, this guy was practicing katas of a Firion martial arts that was taught to the inductees from the lowest caste who weren’t benders. An art form more suited to the use of bladed plasma weaponry but of course, if the unlucky bastard was inside the enclosure, they weren’t about to give him weapons with which to escape. Still, not his target so ignoring the non-bender he moved on to the last occupied enclosure.

The primary shielding receded but much to his surprise, this particular enclosure appeared to have been modified for it occupant. Instead of a simple bunk bend bolted to the floor like the other two, this one held an altar-like structure smack-dab in the middle and chained to this structure with his arms and legs spread-eagled was a young boy. He couldn’t have been more than twelve years old and yet he was being detained using much harsher measures than his fellow ‘specimens’.

He only needed to search for a moment before he caught the blue arrowhead tattoos peeking out from underneath the boy’s neon green jumpsuit. So that was one indicator that this might be his target but he needed to be sure. He quickly typed in the passcodes to disable the secondary shielding before stepping inside.

“You’re the one they call specimen 112-A2, correct?”

Tired grey eyes met his own but the boy wore an expression of angry defiance as he spoke, inhaling deeply. “For the last time, my name is Aang!” and with that, the boy breathed out. A powerful gust of wind knocked the young man off his feet.

“It _is_ you,” the young man breathed as he landed ten feet away in a crouch. Straightening up, he glanced over his shoulder, to ensure that none of the guards had decided to wander out of their patrol zones before stepping back, closer to the airbender’s enclosure.

“Who are you?” the airbender named Aang demanded though he made no moves to attack him again.

“Someone who’s going to get you out of here,” he replied as he searched the altar for an unlocking mechanism of some sort. He found one at the back, and unlike the secondary shielding, this one required another keycard in addition to the passcodes. He glanced at keycard he had stolen before moving back to the unconscious scientists outside. Searching through their pockets he discovered a slightly different keycard though it appeared like it would work with the altar. Two minutes later, the young airbender was free of the chains and on his knees, though he made a valiant effort of trying to stand on shaky legs.

The airbender looked surprised when the intruder moved to his side and helped him get off the floor. “You’re not really a guard, are you?”

The intruder gave a wry smirk at that. “What gave it away?”

“You’re breaking me out of this place!” the boy declared and he had to resist the urge to tell the idiot to keep his voice down. “You’re definitely not a guard. And even if you are, you’re a whole lot nicer than all those other jerks.

“Is that so?”

“Uh huh.” That was when Aang’s gaze settled on his scar. “That looks like it must have hurt a lot.”

“It did…”

“How—”

“Let’s go.” The intruder cut off the question before it could be fully formed and hurried out of the enclosure with his cargo, moving towards the exit. “We don’t have a lot of time before the guards notice something is wrong.”

“Wait! What about the others?” the boy demanded, digging in his heels to make him difficult to move.

“They’re not my concern,” he replied in a clipped tone. “I only came to get you.”

“But we can’t just leave them.” The boy protested as he freed his arm and moved towards the enclosures. “They’re being experimented on, same as me.”

“They’re _not_ my problem, 112,” he snapped and the boy’s expression closed off. The kid drew himself to his full height, which was still just past the intruder’s chest and tried to look intimidating.

“Either take us along or I’ll tell the guards just _who_ came to steal their precious little experiment,” the non-bender threatened before the airbender could speak. “Last I heard, they’d called off the hunt for your head a while after declaring you an exile but just imagine the number of bounty hunters coming after you, if word got out.”

“Jet and I are both skilled fighters.” Offered the earthbender after a beat while the intruder tried to stare the insolent non-bender into submission. “We could help you fight off anyone that might try to come after the two of you.”

Clenching his fists in indecision, he made the mistake of looking over at Aang, only to find the boy giving him one of the most pathetic and pitiful looks in the history of the Quad. It was almost on par with his sister’s kicked puppy looks.

“I won’t let you get out of here with just the runt,” the non-bender growled, ignoring said ‘runt’s’ indignant cry of “Hey!” Jet met the intruder’s gaze evenly, looking completely unafraid as he continued. “I’d do anything to get out of this place, your _Highness_.”

Next to him Aang sucked in a sharp breath but Zuko ignored it in favor of trying to set Jet on fire with the force of his glower alone. After a moment, the exiled prince turned away and moved to the earthbender’s enclosure, disabling the secondary shield for him first just to spite the non-bender.

“If either of you prove to be a liability, I won’t hesitate to get rid of you,” Zuko promised as he undid the secondary shield to Jet’s enclosure and turned towards the exit. “I have a ship that can get you both off of Firion and I’m willing to take the three of you as far as Chameleon Bay Biome. We go our separate ways from there.

The three of them followed Zuko out of the research facility without any further protests. It was a really good thing that none of the guards had actually been willing to move out of their assigned zones during patrols. Obviously that security flaw would be fixed once it was discovered how he had infiltrated the facility so easily but for now, their stupidity was working out in his favor.

He led them across the rocky terrain to where he’d left his ship. The earthbender decided to speak just as they were boarding his ship, Menboku. “By the way, I’m Haru, your Highness.”

“You can drop the honorifics,” Zuko replied, refusing to look at his new companions as he marched across the cargo hold and up the stairs that led to the main body of the ship. “I’m an exile and I go by Lee.”

The engines hummed to life as he activated the startup sequence and soon they were nothing more than a speck in the sky as Menboku broke through the atmosphere. Down below in the Aimad Research Facility, the first of the guards stirred awake to discover the downed scientists and empty enclosures. Unfortunately for them, with the security systems compromised, it wasn’t until several hours later that the first alarm was raised.

Across the planet, in a secure room, a young woman dressed in pink grinned at the screen as she intercepted and altered the content of the warning that was being broadcasted across the Quad. Azula was going to be so pleased.


	3. Earth

**Gaoling City, Irdom**

**Bei Fong Estate**

**2453 P.D.E**

After hours of difficult labor, the cries of a newborn child rang through the air and Lao Bei Fong stood up from the place where he had sat in vigil for the past thirty hours outside of the birthing room. The doors cracked open and a midwife’s head poked out, the woman grinning from ear to ear as she spoke.

“Congratulations Mr. Bei Fong, it’s a healthy baby girl.”

“Can I finally see them?” Lao demanded, though the tone was tinged with happiness and relief.

“Of course, of course,” the woman bowed her head before she held open the door for him and stepped aside. Paying her no further mind, Lao raced inside, freezing in his footsteps when he spotted them. Resting in a mountain of pillows, tired and sweaty but no less beautiful was his wife with a tiny green bundle of blankets pressed against her.

“Lao, come over here and meet our daughter,” Poppy beckoned tiredly, though no less please than him. She held out the bundle of blankets to reveal the tiniest thing Lao had ever laid his eyes on. His daughter was pink and squishy with a head full of dark hair, her little face scrunched up as she wailed her tiny lungs out and she was simply perfect.

Lao reached out with a cautious hand and rested it on top of her head, grinning like an idiot all the while. “Hello there, little Toph.”

-0-

**Gaoling City, Irdom**

**Bei Fong Estate**

**2455 P.D.E**

“There must be _something_ that can be done,” Poppy insisted, looking from the Healer Yuena of North Watibe to Lao and then back to the healer.

“I’m very sorry Mrs. Bei Fong but I’m afraid, the damage is irreversible at this stage,” Yuena said, shaking her head. “Given her young age, we were only able to address a single issue at a time. Fighting off the virus that caused such a high fever in the first place was our priority and by the time we were able to bring it down to a level where the medbots could target the nerve damage, it was already too late.”

“So you’re telling me that my daughter,” Poppy hissed, refusing to acknowledge how her hands wouldn’t stop shaking and how the tears wouldn’t stop falling even as she advanced on the healer, “my precious little Toph is _never_ going to see again?”

“Poppy,” Lao whispered as he reached out and wrapped his arms around her.

“No!” Poppy cried, trying to wrench free of her husband’s grip as the healer watched on. “I refuse to- to believe that there is nothing that can be done. We will speak with Healer Yugoda. Take Toph to North Watibe if we have to but…”

“Poppy…” Lao repeated her name, pulling her to his chest as she broke down. Healer Yuena was Healer Yugoda’s daughter, trained by her mother in everything Yugoda knew. If Yuena thought there was nothing further that could be done, Yugoda’s response would be the same. And if the top two healers in the entire Quad could not fix the damage, then Toph was doomed to blindness for the rest of her natural life.

A part of her had already accepted the inevitable and as the last of her desperate protests crumbled, Poppy could only weep for all the opportunities lost for their delicate, little daughter.

-0-

**Outskirts of the Quad**

**Uncharted Space**

**2457 P.D.E**

Toph remained curled in a corner of the tiny room she had been thrown in. She pushed the sleeve of her shirt deeper into her mouth to muffle the sounds of her sobs. If she was any louder, she knew what that mean, pirate lady would do to her and even though Toph was scared, she did not want to be thrown out of an airlock. They were in outer space, which was a first for Toph as despite being four years old, her parents worried that her fragile body wouldn’t be able to handle the stress of artificial gravity and those stupid physicians all agreed with them.

She was blind, not sickly but did the physicians bother to tell that to her parents? No. Of course not. And so, it took being kidnapped from a big, public affair of some sort for her to make it off Irdom. But now that she was in space, Toph was equal parts scared and excited. Excited because she was in _space!_ And scared because she was in _space_ by herself. No nannies, no caretakers, no parents around to fuss over her. Just a big group of space pirates led by that mean and scary pirate lady.

Speaking of whom, the door to her room slid open and she heard someone approach.

“You, girly, get out of that corner and come here,” the pirate lady snapped.

Toph uncurled and gingerly climbed to her feet. She did not want to make her angry. What if the pirate lady decided to throw her out of the airlock because Toph took too long to obey? Keeping one hand on the wall, she quickly tried to make her way over to where she had heard the woman speak from. In her haste, however, she did not pause to properly feel for obstacles in her path, which was how she ended up sprawled on the floor after hitting the side of something hard that came up to her stomach.

“You’re truly blind, aren’t you?” the woman murmured as she came to crouch next to Toph. “A blind earthbender. Heh… Tell me, girly, how would you like to see?”

“The… The healers say my eyes can’t be fixed.” She sobbed. She would love to be able to see and not need the nannies do everything for her. She was _four!_ She should be allowed to do some things by herself but mother and father always worried for her because she was blind and had been sickly as a baby. If she could see, but would mean they would worry less for her and she would be able to do some things by herself like a big girl.

“Did I say anything about fixing your eyes?” the woman scoffed. “I asked if you wanted to be able to see.”

“H-How?” she wiped her cheeks and cocked her head in the pirate lady’s direction.

“By learning how to see with your earthbender senses,” Pirate lady replied.

“Oh…” Toph turned her head down to hide the fresh tears she had no doubt pirate lady would be able to see. “Mother and Father say I’m not strong enough to learn any advanced techniques.”

“What’s your name?”

“M-My name?”

“That’s what I asked, didn’t I?” Pirate lady sounded annoyed.

“T-Toph Beifong.”

“You know what it sounds like to me? Tough! You’re tough, girly. Now tell me, how would you like to see?”

“I would love it, Pirate Lady!” she exclaimed before quickly slamming her mouth shut. Why did she call her pirate lady? What if the name annoyed her so much she refused to teach her?

“Pirate Lady?” the woman repeated before letting out a deep bellied laugh. “I like you kid. Call me Mama Badger.”

_Mama Badger?_ Toph frowned before realizing where she had heard it previously. Pirate Lady Mama Badger was the captain of the pirate ship The Badgermole.

“Come along now. If you want to learn how to see with earthbending, you need some gene-mods.”

“But gene-mods are very risky. Mother and Father said that I wasn’t—”

“What was that, Tough? Are you saying you don’t want to see?”

“What? No! I want to see, Pirat— Mama Badger,” Toph squeaked.

“Good, come along then.” Mama Badger took hold of Toph’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Our medic has a batch waiting with your name on it.”

Mama Badger thought she was tough. No one had ever thought she was tough. Mother and Father always worried she was too delicate and sickly to do anything but Mama Badger thought Toph was tough! She would prove her right. And how awesome would it be if she could really learn how to see with earthbending. None of her tutors had ever mentioned such a thing. But maybe that was because it was a super secret pirate skill.

Toph smiled, happily following the pirate lady.

-0-

**Gaoling City, Irdom**

**Bei Fong Estate**

**2465 P.D.E**

"Lady Bei Fong has sent me to assist you with packing for the trip, Miss Toph." A servant said as she stepped into Toph’s room and bowed. Dressed in delicate robes of silk, Toph sat primly on her bed, just the way she was taught a proper heiress was supposed to. Turning her head towards the servant she nodded and gave her a demure smile.

“Please thank Mother for me, once you have finished,” she said, neatly folding her hands in her lap.

"Is there anything specific you would like for me to pack for you, Miss Toph?" the servant asked as she ventured over to her closet and began pulling out her dresses.

“No, you can pack just as mother instructed you.”

“Very well, Miss Toph.”

Toph patiently sat on bed and _watched_ the servant bustle about the room, collecting everything that her mother thought Toph would need on the trip. Half an hour later, the woman bowed, informing her of the tasks completion. With another polite thank you, Toph dismissed the woman, waiting until her footsteps had receded to the other side of the hallway. Hopping off the bed, she destroyed the image of the prim and proper heiress as she quickly kicked off the silk slippers her mother insisted she wear inside the estate and felt the marble tiles beneath her bare feet.

Reaching out with her earthbending senses, she checked the location of the nearest servant before crossing her room to reach the farthest corner. Stomping her bare foot on the ground, she popped out a marble tile and slid it out of the way. Bending down, she retrieved an empty backpack that was and well-worn from use. Dumping it on the ground beside her, she rummaged inside the secret chamber for the clothes she had stashed there. Pulling out the t-shirt, loose fitting cargo pants and a hooded jacket, she quickly stuffed them in the bag before hauling out a pair of metal-soled boots. Stuffing them into the bag, alongside the garments, she shouldered it and earthbent the tile back into place. Once again, checking to see where all the servants were, she snuck out of her room and through the various corridors to reach a secret passage that lead out to their private docking bay.

It was only a matter of minutes before she had slipped into the ship and stashed her belongings on board where no one else could find them. Fifteen minutes later, she was back in her bedroom, seated on her bed like the perfect porcelain doll, all signs of the rebellious teen hidden behind the mask of a delicate heiress.

The servant from earlier knocked on her bedroom door before stepping inside. “Your parents are awaiting your arrival at the foyer, Miss Toph.”

Nodding, Toph slid off the bed and held out her hand in the servant’s direction, waiting for the woman to guide her out of the room and through the corridors leading to the foyer.

“That will be all,” Poppy Bei Fong approached and took her daughter’s hand, dismissing the servant. Toph let herself be lead to the ship and helped into a seat. She let her mother buckle her in, feeling her soft hands caress her cheek. “We’ll be sitting right across from you, sweetheart.”

“Yes, Mother.” Toph responded softly, lowering her head as she settled in and waited for the ship to depart.

-0-

**Omashu City, Irdom**

**Vistula Hill Resort**

**2465 P.D.E**

"If you need anything at all, the buzzer is on the table to your right, alright sweetheart?” Poppy said, as she gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind Toph’s ear and then tucked her into bed. “Anusha is in the room right next to yours so you can use it to call her for anything you may need. Your father and I are required to attend a formal dinner after the deal has closed so we may be a little late in returning.”

“Yes, Mother.” Toph nodded, closing her eyes as she felt her mother press a kiss upon her forehead.

“Get some rest, darling. The journey must have tired you out. We know how difficult it can be for someone as delicate as you.” Toph suppressed the urge to snort with well-practiced ease. It had been eight years since she had believed herself to be delicate but if it made her parents happy to think so, she couldn’t really do much to change their minds. Not that she hadn’t tried over the years.

The Badgermole crew had returned her to her family once they’d received the ransom but there were times Toph found herself wishing she could have stayed with them forever. Thanks to the gene-mods Mama Badger had insisted she get in order to _see,_ Toph was perfectly adept and self-sufficient and yet, her parents refused to believe she was capable. All her attempts had only lead to stressing them both out, leading her to ultimately give up on the notion of ever convincing them. But that didn’t mean she never snuck out to enjoy herself whenever she felt like it.

“Goodnight, Mother.”

“Goodnight, Toph.”

Half an hour after her parents had left and Anusha had busied herself watching something terribly cheesy soap opera on the holovision, Toph snuck out of her room to retrieve the bag she had hidden on the ship. A quick change of clothes and suddenly the prim heiress to Bei Fong Industries had transformed into an unruly street rat. Stashing her expensive clothes into the bag and stuffing it back in the concealed compartment, she stood up with a grin and set out towards the heart of Omashu. It was time to explore the city.

-0-

**Gaoling City, Irdom**

**Bei Fong Estate**

**2465 P.D.E**

Toph clutched the backpack tighter to her chest, holding still in the hidden alcove as her parents drew closer. She had been so sure everyone had gone to bed already, which was why she had gone to retrieve her belonging from the ship. But as she had been on her way back, she had sensed her parents coming back to their bedroom from the family room. Knowing there wasn’t enough time to get back to her room without getting caught, she had hidden in the space behind a marble statue that was set in alcove.

"Lao, perhaps we should wait a few more years." Her mother said, worrying the edge of her sleeve.

"The Yum Soon Han family will treat her just as lovingly as we have, Poppy." Her father replied.

"But Toph won’t even be thirteen for another four months.” Mother protested as they came to a stop near her hiding spot. “Perhaps we can revisit this in a few years. If the Yum Soon Han are in such a hurry, they can look elsewhere and when our daughter is a little older, we could try with the Pang family. Their son—"

"The Yum Soon Han fortune is incomparable to the Pangs, my dear.” Father cut her off, speaking in that patient tone he like to use when he thought mother was being unreasonable. “What’s more, their elder son is a commander in the Irdom United Taskforce. They will be able to provide better security for our delicate flower. It wouldn’t do for another repeat of that dreadful Badgermole incident.”

“I know Lao but she is still so young…” Mother sounded unconvinced as she trailed of. Her heartbeat gave away the fact that she was upset even if it didn’t show in her tone. Toph wondered about the topic of their discussion. Neither of them had clearly said what was going on that involved their ‘delicate flower’ regarding the Yum Soon Han family. Father had been looking to start a joint venture with them for a new mining operation in the Aimad asteroid belt which was why they had all gone to Omashu in the first place. But what did any of that have to do with Toph and her age?

Father turned to face mother, taking her hands in his own. “Poppy, we were married when you were fifteen. How much of a difference would three years make?"

Wait… What now?

Blood rushed to her ears and it was all Toph could do to not give herself away as she dug her fingers into the bag she held.

“Their son in twice her age!”

“Deals like this don't come by every day.” Father was saying and Toph felt horrified and betrayed. How could they barter her off like that? “Their son is an honorable man and has agreed to take care of our flower. He will make a good husband for Toph. What’s more, the Yum Soon Han have agreed to my business proposal for a joint mining venture in the Aimad asteroid belt.”

Toph had always known how strongly her parents had felt about her delicate constitution and how it saddened them that she would not be able to function without help. For the first four years of her life, she had believed it too but after that fateful kidnapping at the hands of the Badgermole crew, she had come to see herself as Mama Badger had seen her. She wasn’t a fragile lotus that needed sheltering and protection. She was Toph ‘Tough’ Bei Fong and she would be the greatest earthbender in the Quad. Toph had invented metalbending in the scant few months that she had spent aboard The Badgermole before her parents had gotten her back after paying her ransom.

She had tried to tell them that she wasn’t weak. She had tried to show them all that Mama Badger had taught her. But they had refused to see beyond what they wanted to see and so she had begun leading the double life of the perfect, delicate heiress that they wanted and the badass earthbender that she was. And now they were going to pawn her off to some old guy in return for a stupid business deal? Even if sealing deals with marriage contracts was a deep rooted tradition in the upper echelons of Irdom society, she could not believe her parents were so eager to be rid of her that couldn’t even wait till she was of age!

Gritting her teeth, she waited in the shadows as her parents moved away and back to their bedroom. Slipping out of the alcove, she turned away from their closed door and headed back the way she had come. She walked faster and faster, breaking out into a run as she neared the hidden passageway. Warm tears trailed down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away before smashing apart the secret entrance. She heard the residents stir at the sudden noise but she refused to care about any of it as she tore down the passage and out into the cold night air. Turning her back on everything she had ever known, Toph ran and never looked back.


	4. Water

**North Watibe Royal Palace**

**Spirit Oasis Solarium**

**2458 P.D.E**

Katara fiddled with the fur lining the hem of her parka as she walked with her mother. This was the first time she had ever been to North Watibe and everything was so different from home. The Royal Palace was so huge, it could fit ten of the chief’s villas from South Watibe. Mother had a lovely garden in their villa with a lot of exotic plants kept in special temperature controlled growth tanks but the solarium in this palace itself was one giant temperature controlled growth tank. There was _actual_ grass beneath her feet. And a big round pool up ahead with a lot of sparkly koi fish. As they moved around it, she thought she spotted a black and white pair moving around each other in circles but it was quickly hidden behind a school of golden orange koi that swarmed up to the surface and then ducked back down.

Sokka let out an excited whoop and left their mother’s side to go stare at the fish. “Hey mom, do you think the chief would mind if I speared a couple of koi in the pond? There’s so many and it’ll be good for hunting practice. Huh mom, can I?”

“I would appreciate it if you left the koi in this oasis alone, Prince Sokka,” Lady Anana spoke as she emerged from between the fronds of two huge plants somewhere to their left. Sokka yelped and turned bright red in embarrassment as he hurried back to their mother’s side and hid behind her. “It would break Yue’s heart if any of the fish were injured. If it pleases you, however, you can try fishing in the royal fishing ponds after lunch.”

“Lady Anana, it is so good to see you again,” mother said with a smile as the two women embraced.

“And you, Lady Kya. How are you doing, Princess Katara, Prince Sokka? May I introduce my daughter, Princess Yue?” And with that, Lady Anana stepped aside to reveal the prettiest girl Katara had seen. Just like everything else on North Watibe, Princess Yue was also very different from everyone back home. Dressed in the finest of furs with her _sparkly white_ hair pulled up in an elaborate bun made of so many braids, she looked every bit like a proper princess. Next to her elegant dress, Katara suddenly felt a little self-conscious in her comfortable pair of jeans that she had begged mother to allow her to wear.

“Wow, you’re really pretty!” Sokka blurted out and then promptly slapped his hands on his mouth.

Even Yue’s laugh sounded like the tinkling of bells. “Thank you, Prince Sokka. I like your wolf’s tail.”

“Really?” Sokka grinned when Yue nodded in earnest.

“Go on, Katara, introduce yourself.” Mother gave her a little push, drawing Yue’s attention who beamed at her.

“Hello, princess, it is so good to finally meet you. I have been looking forward to your arrival.”

“H-Hello Princess Yue, I’ve been looking forward to getting here too.” Katara returned the smile with a shy one of her own.

“Would you two like to see the rest of the solarium?” Yue asked. Looking to their mother for confirmation, Katara and Sokka nodded after Kya made shooing motions with her hands. Yue grabbed both of their hands in her own and tugged them along to her favorite place in the garden.

-0-

Kya watched the three children traipse off, chattering excitedly amongst themselves. She waited until the group was well out of earshot before pulling out an old datapad from her carry bag and handing it over to Anana. “I thought you might be interested in taking a look at this.”

Frowning Anana took the datapad from her and turned it on, scrolling through the contents before meeting her gaze. “This is heavily encrypted. Where did you acquire this from?”

“Remember that trader I mentioned?”

“The one who came to you claiming he had acquisitioned something of value from the Waystation Colonies’ wreckage?”

“This was among the things I bought from him.” Kya nodded. “I’ve managed to decrypt some of the files in it but most of the encryptions are beyond my skill level. Based on what I’ve seen so far, however, I’m hesitant to hand it off to the technicians for decryption.”

“Which is why you suggested that it was time our children finally met.”

“That, and I figured it would help Sokka get past the ‘girls have cooties’ stage a little quicker.” Kya laughed.

“They do look adorable together,” Anana agreed as she watched her daughter pull the pair of siblings along with her, showing off the exotic flora of the solarium. The other nobles’ children never seemed to appreciate Yue’s excitement for these things so it was refreshing to see Katara and Sokka mirror her daughter’s delight. Turning her attention back to the device in her hand, she gestured for Kya to follow her. “Now, let us go see what secrets we can unlock on this thing, shall we?”

-0-

_“MKÄ0†ï‚ÿ!ÌÝ¦]uÙt/"ìU+xÍ¦Ól’’™Uûï_

_+»ÛÅ¥xèqÞ0Ïû’ÕúÛvâµÞ)È’:ãËÖÕ_

_**(** **For the Eyes of His Majesty the Fire Lord Only)** _

_ÞŠç›ÄÚ•ºóH°Î¯¯V/ØiŽKÔ´=‰Hq¤ aî¥$Ó Õ”ø‑] <©|°šãjÙkó¡k”‹4]Ê0f@~Æ›RAØ”· Š¡Çÿ°}UµŸ¼ÙYt|¡B2Ç›QdêP#+8$Id�¼¬°˜U�‡Çûyª>›³Þìˆ½}�mGƒ$9¥²e´Ù”ÍrNŽ»x2Ù�¿á¤Ãýœ•w\èm7ò8FSwsJ|áöõÏÛ…yöíò ÿÿPK! 1EXñ8 _

_After the Subject’s positive response to nano-gene therapy, #### scheduled a secondary round of culture treatments and after five months, subject was rescheduled for a demonstration._

_February 1 st, 2377 P.D. #### successfully demonstrated ######## proving to be the second successful possessor of the Avatar Effect. Unfortunately, Subject suffered a ÙrGºæýDÌ;Ts.ÜŽ€ (.¢¶hIÁÕÖioc©Çá¹™HT%€2«*Ëµ†¯üçâLÄ9s52�â'™ÿûþÌB !P%ª»;ZPÈÊÌ�ßÿöê·<‹.lU§®x±µ»½³_

_Ù"vIZŒ_lýãíÙƒ§[QÝ˜"1™+ì‹™·^½ü¯ÿåoÓç‰‹ÛÜM$Kõói¿Øš4MùüáÃ:žØÜÔÛyW®v£f;vùC7¥±} proceeded to attack the remaining three colonial research facilities. It is not yet fully known how the subject managed to accomplish their destruction but the attacks focused on damaging the structure integrity of the biomes and their power sources resulting in the complete destruction of #################### while only partially damaged 8uUòpogw‡�++Ûº–÷›âÂÔ[~¹üòj®´…|9rUnùg5~˜›ê¼-Èê¥iÒaš¥ÍLÖÞy–q/¶Úªxî—xÐm?y®ò�„_T›¼W�râo€o|XÙLöàŠz’–óc¼ïjòå$,r±îyž›–»�nƒ“ÊLå�ù‚›l?Ñå™î|ýŠ»;@Kt¿Ød ‹ï;ÉMZÌ_ü^WÓ»ÜÝƒë-°·¼@9¾p¾ª\\[ÎWKo¶Úëâ¼[”}�µ <�ûG«o¶™7S reentry of Aimad’s atmosphere. Although subject had been given an experimental regenerative nanite implant, #### was deemed terminated based on lack of readouts of vital signs from the subject. As with the viral outbreak in Waystation Colonies, evidence of the Aimad Colonies Massacre linking_

_æñó×ãÂUf˜ÉŽd‘Üz´Þz)gè’þ,£ésáXÉ�/¶vvÎNŸœ <9Ú �Ø‘i³æò7?à£Ç§ûG�Ÿq±ò‡ �TúÇðáË¿=ôÿz8ÿòŠ'¦Ï›—¹ª™D?�íØèG73YôƒÉLlñT£ÏêZwfËoÊ´J›è{S§uôÆe¦JÛüFÛ}²{z²s£í†U�¨ðëãýÇGÏÎøë+Î°÷èàiôÃöÉöéíÝ³�ÕßMc*�Ò$ÉlMS�w3±Ñ¨¢,-mùOA÷È�ä�**E™ÈÔQ-ŸOMv‑~†/s'OWÛÑÛ‰ÜþT‑âZiU7Q“æ–¿™˜$²"Ž£¡µEÔ¸hËDóÛY3ÁË±Fí¢$�lA<ª\‑M\n·î¦wË8è“'»ONõ ”ÝÏëR°öÅ further acquisition of #### impossible. As the element was an integral part of the research into the Avatar Effect, large-scale research on the project is no longer viable and termination is recommended. _

Kya and Anana looked up from the datapad, and traded identical looks of horror. This was beyond anything either of them could have imagined. Although the data was corrupted, they had managed to recover parts of the file after some serious decryption. And what this report from Dr. Shinu implied was not just horrifying but it could have far reaching consequences for the entire Quad.

“If this is what I think this is, we need to bring this before the Watibe councils and chiefs,” Anana said as she quickly began to transfer the data to her personal system.

“I know, but…” Kya hesitated, frowning down at the datapad.

“What?”

“With how unstable the current political climate between our planets is, I’m afraid that this will lead to Irdom and Watibe declaring war on Firion,” Kya finally said. “An interplanetary war would wreak untold devastation and after the loss of Aimad, can we really afford losses on that scale?”

“You might be right but this isn’t something we can hide away, Kya,” Anana said. “This report claims that the viral outbreak on the waystation colonies might have been engineered. If we keep this hidden in an attempt to prevent a war, who’s to say that Watibe or Irdom might not be the next Aimad? Not to mention the research into Avatar Effect and Firion’s interest in it all.”

“I know but we’d need concrete proof to bring before the council and chiefs.” Kya relented after a while. “We both know that this _will_ lead to war. And if we are going to be responsible for it, we need to be certain that this is the right step.”

-0-

**Mizuchi Class Ship**

**Aimad Asteroid Belt**

**2460 P.D.E**

It was the blaring of alarms that roused Kya from her sleep. Hopping to her feet, she quickly pulled her hair back with a hair tie, shrugged on a jacket and grabbed her flasks of bending water. Strapping them to her hips, she hurried out of her quarters at the same time as Arrluk arrived, blasters powered on and held by his sides. Taking up a protective position in front of her and facing the hallway he had come through, he spoke.

“We’ve been boarded. It’s the crew of the Red Lotus.”

Kya’s heart leapt to her throat upon hearing that name. While there were pirate crews that only looted ships and left the survivors stranded in damaged ships or locked the crews in escape pods, The Red Lotus was notorious for leaving behind no survivors. Suddenly, she was very glad she had insisted that Sokka and Katara stay at the North Watibe Palace with Yue and Anana while Kya and a handpicked crew went to retrieve what was rumored to be a blackbox belonging to one of the last ships that had tried to escape the quarantine and had been shot down as a result. The black market merchant had set the remote asteroid belt as the tradeoff point. The man had demanded gold instead of units transferred to his account in exchange for the blackbox.

“This way to the escape pods, my Lady,” Arrluk declared as he led the way towards the tiny launch bay. “The crew will cover for you and ensure your pod isn’t followed.”

“I’m not leaving you all to die here,” Kya replied, at war with herself. A part of her wanted to take the offered escape and make her way back to her children but the other did not want to abandon her people to their fate. She was the wife of a Chief and though there were provisions that could allow to safely make a getaway, what kind of a person would that show her to be in front of her children? One of who abandoned those under her care?

“My Lady, I must insist that—” Arrluk began to protest.

“You must insist nothing, Arrluk.” Kya cut in as she turned back the way they had come, bending the water out of her flasks to coat her arms in elongated tentacles as she heard the sound of fighting coming deeper in the ship. “We will take care of these pirates and continue on to the tradeoff point as planned.”

Arrluk muttered a curse under his breath but relented and hurried to join her side, a glint of respect in his blue eyes as he charged the blasters and took point.

The sound of fighting grew louder and louder until suddenly they were right in the midst of it, with the rest of her ship’s crew making a stand against the pirates in the mess hall. Blaster shots flew through the air nonstop with neither side gaining any ground as they used upturned tables for cover. Ducking down behind one tables, she let Arrluk get a status update as she closed her eyes and pushed out her focus into feeling for the presence of bodies of water. The hydra-sense was a technique she had developed quite recently, based on a mix of healing and bloodbending techniques which allowed her to pinpoint any living being’s location regardless of being able to see them. Tapping into that technique, she acquired the locations of the pirate crew hidden behind the table and took up a bending stance.

Sensing for the energy in the water she had coating her arms, she lowered its temperature to well below freezing point and jerked her fingers to send needles of ice soaring across the room. The super cooled water, instantly turned the metal table tops brittle and pierced the thin cover to hit her targets hidden behind. A series of loud curses rang through the mess hall as the pirates suddenly found themselves impaled by ice needles.

Though she hadn’t managed to kill more than a couple with that surprise attack, her crew’s spirits were still lifted and Kya took that as a victory as she settled to help her crew rid the ship of the unwelcome pirate infestation.

-0-

**North Watibe Royal Palace**

**Spirit Oasis Solarium**

**2460 P.D.E**

Katara was playing by the koi pond with Yue, showing the older girl some of the bending techniques she had begun learning under her mother’s tutelage when a servant led Bato into the Solarium.

“Uncle Bato!” Katara gave a happy cry as she let the water collapse back into the pond and rushed to her favorite uncle. Tackling the man in a hug, she hung from his shoulders with a grin as Yue followed at a more sedate pace. “What are you doing here? Is mom done with her work trip? Did she and dad come with you?”

“Katara,” Bato said, gently prying her off his shoulders and setting her back on the ground again, “I’m so sorry but… Kya’s ship was attacked by pirates.”

“Is mom okay? She’s not hurt, is she? She got back okay, right?” Katara asked, fear making her entire body tingle unpleasantly. “Right?” she demanded when Bato remained silent.

“Oh kid,” Bato finally said, resting his huge hand on top of her scalp. “Your mom didn’t make it.”

“Lady Kya was killed in the attack?” Yue gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.

“Who was it?”

Bato looked taken aback at her icy tone but Katara didn’t care.

“Katara, I don’t think that you—”

“Uncle Bato, who killed my mom?”

“It was Yon Rha,” Sokka said by way of announcing his presence. Bato turned to him with a frown and Sokka crossed his arms in defiance, glaring at their uncle through bloodshot eyes. “I overheard the guards. The Red Lotus attacked mom’s ship and Yon Rha was the one who killed her. She had burns all over her arms and face, just like his signature.”

Katara clenched her fists, grit her teeth and tried to fight the onslaught of tears, silently vowing to one day find and kill the man who killed her mother.

-0-

**North Watibe Royal Palace**

**Private Royal Gardens**

**2465 P.D.E**

Sokka took in a deep breath and stepped in front of Chief Arnook, his handcrafted spear carefully balanced in his palms as he took a knee and present it to the chief. Arnook studied the offered weapon with a face that gave nothing away before reaching out with his right hand to grasp it.

“You may rise, Sokka, son of Chief Hakoda of South Watibe,” Arnook said magnanimously and Sokka straightened, taking a step back to stand beside Hahn, son of councilmember Tikaani of North Watibe.

Hahn, too, had approached Chief Arnook with a handcrafted spear to showcase his intentions to court Princess Yue, as was customary in the upper echelons of Watibe. The girl’s father had the right to accept or reject an offer for courtship based on a variety of factors though the quality of the presented weapon was usually a major determining factor.

Chief Arnook studied the two boys standing side by side, holding each of their spears in his hands, Sokka’s on the right and Hahn’s on the left. The former’s spear was marked with traditional carvings along the shaft, with the head carved out of a tusk of a reindeer-walrus. Lapis Lazuli and sapphires decorated the length of the staff which was made out of Black Locust wood. All in all it was an elegant yet formidable weapon.

Hahn’s, on the other hand, was so generously inlaid with white gold and precious gemstones till it was nigh impossible to tell what wood had been used as the base of the spear. The spear’s tip was crafted of gold. Just like the boy, it was very pretty to look at but ultimately useless as far as practicality went. Arnook would have liked to dismiss Hahn’s weapon outright and selected Sokka’s but Hahn _was_ the son of one of the more prominent councilmembers and it wouldn’t do to offend the man by dismissing his son without so much as a second thought.

“Both of your offerings are unique and finely crafted,” Arnook said and watched the boys’ faces transform, Sokka’s with quiet hope and Hahn’s with self-assured arrogance, “however, seeing as it is my daughter’s courtship that hangs in the balance, I cannot in good conscience, decide on one over the other without her input. Princess Yue, if you would please step out here for a moment?”

Hahn looked like he wanted to protest over the _liberties_ Arnook was taking with his daughter, as it was within a father’s purview to arrange the matter of courtship for his children. However, Arnook was the chief and that afforded him to break tradition a little and let Yue decide for herself.

Yue stepped out of the alcove she had been waiting in with Princess Katara by her side, the latter grinning widely at her brother as they approached where Arnook stood with the two boys.

“Princess Yue,” Arnook said, turning to face his daughter, “as you are now of age, these two fine young men have approached me today for my permission to court you. In order to seek my permission they have presented me with these weapons. Do you wish to examine the choices before we decide on a suitor for you?”

“Yes, father.” Yue spoke softly, in the demure tone she always adopted for the court sessions. Leaving Katara’s side, she approached and studied the two spears. After nearly a minute, she reached out and wrapped her fingers around the one he held in his right hand. “While both these spears expertly made, I prefer the crafter of this one as it is both beautiful and practical.”

“What?” Hahn cried in indignation as he broke protocol and stomped up to where Arnook stood with his daughter, acting very much like a nine year old instead of nineteen. “As if a girl like you could tell the difference!”

“Would you like to clarify that statement, Hahn?” Arnook asked, turning to face the boy.

“I only mean that the princess doesn’t have that kind of training.” Hahn replied, nearly tripping over his words as he realized his faux pas.

“Perhaps, you would like to test your training against mine, Son of Tikaani?” Yue offered with a serene smile and Arnook almost broke into a smile of his at the look of panic on Hahn’s face. Suddenly he was very glad he had let Katara and Yue convince him into breaking yet another tradition and letting his darling girl receive a warrior’s training. If for nothing else, than for her own safety as the two girls had put it.

“No, my lady.” Hahn shook his head and that was the moment Sokka chose to step forward.

“How about you test it against mine, Hahn?” the seventeen year old grinned, clapping the older boy on the shoulder.

Hahn turned up his nose at Sokka and held out his hand for the return of his spear. As if Arnook didn’t have enough reason not to want the boy as a suitor for his daughter, this was another. The boy may be a fine warrior, but he was too self-absorbed and thought too highly of himself, claiming to be the _best_ warrior in the Quad when he hadn’t even tested his mettle in a battle. Then there was the fact that once he grew angry or upset, he forgot any notions of propriety, such as demanding his offered spear back even though Arnook could have kept the offered weapon if he wanted to, despite having chosen another suitor for Yue. And yet, here the boy was, taking it back and with it his intentions to court Yue.

Holding his head high, Hahn marched out of the gardens, believing himself to be out of earshot as he begun to mutter about disgrace and breach of protocol and whatnot though the wind carried his voice over to where they stood. Shaking his head, Arnook turned to Sokka and smiled.

“Prince Sokka, Son of Chief Hakoda of South Watibe, I accept your offer of courtship for my daughter.”

The boy let out a delighted whoop before breaking protocol and stepping forth to embrace Yue and Katara with a bright grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kya is a non-bender in A:tLA canon but I took creative liberties and made her a formidable waterbender.


End file.
